TRPM 116

chapter 116

Alex swallowed hard.

He had never intended to reveal information about the Artist who made his dream come true, and he had half-forgotten that a restriction had even been placed on him.

But now that he was actually facing Han Gun-woo and recalled the existence of the restriction, he couldn’t help but feel tense.

‘(The restriction doesn’t interfere with my life itself, but still…)’

It was the kind of restriction that simply prevented him from speaking certain information.

If he tried to say something forbidden, not only would his body seize up, but a signal would be sent directly to the one who had placed the restriction—the Artist himself.

‘(The fact that it includes a signaling function to the Artist….)’

Didn’t that mean that if he tried to speak, the Artist might personally come to impose sanctions on him?

‘(No, the Artist wouldn’t go that far…)’

Alex shook his head, trying to cast off such anxious thoughts.

Instead, he turned to the children who were doting on Fafnir.

“Kkyuu!”
“Did you hear that? It said kkyuu!”
“So cute!”

Especially Lee Ha-eun and Ryu Ah-young were even petting Fafnir.

Ryu Ah-min and Lee Du-min weren’t quite as bold as the others, but they looked like they also wanted to pet Fafnir and were waiting for their chance.

Han Gun-woo watched the children with a warm expression.

‘(…I can’t just leave Fafnir alone among the kids.)’

They were just coming back from the guildmaster’s office after being scolded for the accident Fafnir caused.

If he left Fafnir with the children and anything happened, it would be disastrous, so Alex decided to stay close and watch over them.

‘(Even if I weren’t here, Han Gun-woo… the Artist would probably handle things, though.)’

It was just as he was thinking that—

Creak…

“Hm?”

Han Gun-woo looked down to find another familiar clinging to his leg.

It was Love, Lee Ha-eun’s familiar.

Love was pestering Han Gun-woo as if asking to be petted too.

‘(…Is it jealous that Fafnir is getting all the attention?)’

Alex thought that as he watched Han Gun-woo, looking a little dumbfounded but still stroking Love.

Other than the earlier accident with Fafnir, it really felt like a peaceful day.

BEEEEEP…!

But this was a world where dungeons spawned daily from black mist, and unhinged Awakened committed all kinds of crimes.

One never knew when an incident would break out.

“(What’s this…?)”

Alex froze at the sudden wail of the siren, just as an armed Mutant team rushed out of a nearby office. They spotted him immediately.

“Let’s move! Oh? Isn’t that Alex?”
“Is this the guy with the dragon?”

Some recognized him from earlier, others looked at him with curiosity because it was their first time seeing him.

But that was short-lived—

“Save the greetings! They said the raid on a big dungeon just failed! We don’t know when monsters will spill out of the gate, so hurry!”
“Ah, right, focus…!”
“Alex, you burned up all your mana training today, didn’t you? Those kids need a guardian anyway—watch them for us! We’re in a hurry!”
“Wait, hold on—”

The Mutant team said that in passing and ran off, brushing past Alex and the children before he could even protest.

“(There’s no need to worry.)”

As Alex wavered in confusion, Han Gun-woo spoke up, clearly to reassure him.

“(If the siren is blaring but no announcement went out, it means it’s nothing big enough for Mirae-noona, the Aura Master, to step in. The Mutant team that just left will be more than enough to handle it.)”
“(That’s not what I meant….)”

Alex hesitated. As a member of Ironblood Guild, was it right for him to just sit here?

But Han Gun-woo shook his head.

“(Objectively speaking, Alex-ssi, your abilities aren’t all that outstanding.)”

The words bruised Alex’s pride a little, but they weren’t wrong.

Aside from having contracted a dragon, he was ordinary in every other respect. Every other Awakened in Ironblood was far stronger than him.

If he went out there insisting on helping, it would be fortunate if he didn’t just get in the way.

“Hm? Gun-woo, did you just say something to Mr. Alex?”
“His mouth moved, but I didn’t hear anything.”

Apparently Han Gun-woo had done something to make sure the other children couldn’t hear their conversation.

So Alex just watched as the kids went back to playing with Fafnir.

“Ugh…! Finally made it back!”
“Damn it! Don’t grab me with those bloody hands!”

Before long, the Mutant team that had gone out returned to the building.

The bloodied ones headed for the showers, while the relatively clean ones, probably rear guards, went back toward the office.

“Hey, Alex! Did you look after the kids well?”

Among them was the orc Mutant he’d seen earlier.

Alex had assumed he was a frontliner given his orcish strength, but—

“…A staff?”
“Huh? Oh, you thought just because I’m an orc I’d fight with fists or an axe? I’m actually a mage.”

An orc mage?

Well, it wasn’t impossible. Even among orcs, shamans existed. There was no rule that said they couldn’t use magic.

“Hello, mister.”
“Been a while.”
“Yeah, you kids staying healthy?”

The orc Mutant seemed to know the children well, exchanging casual greetings before thanking Alex for looking after them and heading into the office.

“Ah, look at the time!”

The kids, who had been playing with Fafnir, pulled out their phones and realized it was getting late.

“(See you next time, Mr. Alex!)”
“(Yeah…)”

They released Fafnir and waved goodbye to Alex before heading home.

Watching them go, Alex thought—

‘(…So why did they come to Ironblood Guild in the first place?)’

To see Yeon Mirae?

Or just a field trip?

“Kkyuu!”
“(Ah, sorry.)”

Freed from the children, Fafnir nestled into Alex’s arms.

He could have unsummoned it, but for now, he just wanted to hold it.

‘(No point going to the lounge now—cleanup will be finished already.)’

Since enough time had passed since the accident, cleanup was surely complete. It would be awkward to go and apologize now.

So Alex decided to just clock out for the day.

Even his supervisor, Yeon Mirae, had said he could.

“How was Alex?”

“He caused an accident by mistake, but aside from that, not bad.”

At my question, Ji Hyung-man answered like that.

I felt like I’d just heard something odd.

“An accident?”
“It wasn’t intentional. But yes, it happened because of Alex’s dragon.”

He explained about the small fire caused by Fafnir’s breath and how it led to the lounge being flooded when they put it out.

“…In hatchling form, its firepower shouldn’t have been that strong.”
“It set the slime Mutant on fire. You know that kid—his body burns easily.”
“Ah…”

With that detail, I understood how it had happened.

“Well… that couldn’t be helped. But aside from that, he wasn’t bad?”
“Correct. Yeon Mirae said Alex is fairly determined and diligent. And the Mutants praised him too—not for strength, but for not showing disgust or contempt at their strange appearances, even if he was startled.”

According to Ji Hyung-man, Alex had earned respect for his attitude.

“He’s not skilled enough for real missions yet, but Mirae will be training him. Someday he may take part in operations with the team.”

Ji Hyung-man seemed genuinely optimistic about Alex’s future.

But I had a different view.

‘Given Alex’s age, expecting much of a future is… difficult.’

Alex wasn’t young. Ji Hyung-man surely knew that.

Yes, some Awakened aged slowly. Others, like Kang Geon-hyung, the late guildmaster of Taeguk Guild, aged at a normal human pace.

Ji Hyung-man must be assuming Alex is one of the slow-aging ones.

‘He looks young for his age, but in reality, he ages normally.’

I hadn’t met Alex in my previous life, but I had seen photos.

To grow to the level Ji Hyung-man hoped for, Alex would need at least five years. By then, his active years would be limited.

Aging couldn’t be stopped.

And while advancing as a mage could extend one’s career, Alex wasn’t particularly talented as a mage—only as a summoner.

“…That’s for you to judge, Ji Hyung-man.”

Sharing that knowledge wouldn’t help, so I left it unsaid.

Though I interfered with Ironblood Guild at times, ultimately, it was Ji Hyung-man who ran it.

As I thought this, he showed me a document.

“Even if Alex can’t grow much stronger, his value is still enough.”

It was an analysis of the publicity Ironblood would gain from taking in a mage contracted with a dragon.

The numbers weren’t exact, just estimates, but if the projections were right—

“So even just for the PR effect, he’s worth protecting.”
“In the past, we wouldn’t have judged someone’s worth like that. But now that Ironblood has grown so large, we have to consider the guild’s profits and losses.”

Ji Hyung-man said that almost apologetically.

He had changed since before. But since it was for the guild’s sake, not selfishness, I had no reason to criticize.

“I understand. More importantly…”

I returned the document to him and shifted the subject.

I hadn’t come here just to ask about Alex.

“Why did you summon me through Mirae?”

Strictly speaking, I hadn’t sought Ji Hyung-man—he had sought me.

“…We’ve received a request for aid from abroad. An unofficial one, so it hasn’t been announced.”
“Unofficial…”

For a foreign guild to send such a request meant two things: exposing it could damage their national pride, and they were facing an incident their own guilds couldn’t handle.

I had little fondness for unofficial requests.

In my previous life, they often betrayed or exploited those who helped, using the excuse that nothing had ever been formal. Some had even been traps from the start.

“We get all kinds of requests, but this is nearly the first time from overseas… I wasn’t sure whether to accept.”
“I don’t mind. But where’s it from? Start with that.”

At my question, Ji Hyung-man answered:

“Japan.”